JANUARY INCOME SURGE

Americans' personal income rose 0.9 percent in January, more than twice as rapidly as spending, to score the biggest gain in three months.

The Commerce Department also said Thursday that incomes climbed 0.7 percent in December, revised from an earlier estimate of up 0.8 percent.

Spending increased 0.4 percent in January after edging up 0.1 percent in December.

The Labor Department also reported independently Thursday that the number of Americans filing initial claims for state unemployment benefits tumbled unexpectedly last week, retreating from the high levels in the middle of February.

It said new first-time applications for unemployment pay dipped by 13,000 to 331,000 in the week ended Feb. 25 from a revised 344,000 the prior week.

Initial claims for the Feb. 18 week were reported previously at 349,000.

This week's total came in below Wall Street economists' forecasts of 337,000 new claims.

The January Commerce Department figures on personal income are in line with analysts' predictions, and the spending advance could suggest at least a temporary slowing in the economy. But analysts said in advance of the report that the solid income gains could point to increased buying later this year.

Consumer spending, representing two-thirds of the nation's economic activity, is expected to slow this year from the rapid pace that has driven the economy's four-year-old recovery. The government reported Wednesday that the economy surged 4.6 percent in the last three months of 1994 and grew 4 percent for the year, the best showing in a decade.

The Federal Reserve, seeking to restrain growth and check inflation, has raised interest rates seven times in the last 13 months but expects a slowdown this year.

Disposable income-income after taxes-climbed 0.7 percent in January after gaining 0.8 percent the previous month.

Income was unchanged in November, only the second time all last year it failed to increase. It soared 1.3 percent in October, the last time it gained more than in January.